PETALING JAYA: Selangor continues to record the highest cost of living among Malaysian states, while Kelantan, Kedah, Perlis and Sabah remain the most affordable, according to the Statistics Department.
The Cost of Living Indicators Malaysia 2024 Report released yesterday said that for single-person households, Selangor recorded a Basic Expenditure of Decent Living (PAKW) Index of 92.0, followed by Penang (84.2) and Putrajaya (83.1).
“The lowest indices were in Kelantan (53.7 index points), Sarawak (53.7) and Kedah (56.6),” the department said.
Similar patterns were observed for two-, three- and four-person households, with Selangor consistently leading and Kelantan, Kedah, Perlis and Sabah at the lower end.
“The report introduces the PAKW Index, a new measure showing how much households need to spend to maintain a decent standard of living.
“Kuala Lumpur is set as the reference point at 100, with other locations measured relative to this benchmark.
“A higher index reflects higher expenditure, while a lower index indicates lower costs,” it noted.
The report added that a one-person household in Kelantan requires 46.3% less spending than in Kuala Lumpur – RM537 for every RM1,000 spent in the capital.
“A four-person household in Perlis requires 39.1% less, or RM609 per RM1,000 in Kuala Lumpur,” it said.
It added at the district level, Petaling in Selangor was the only district to surpass Kuala Lumpur across all household sizes.
“For single-person households, Petaling recorded 103.3, followed by Gombak (94.9) and Johor Baru (94.7),” it said.
It added that the lowest indices for the same household size were in Pantu (27.8 index points), Lingga (28.3) and Sebuyau (29.1) in Sarawak.
Among state capitals, Shah Alam consistently recorded the highest costs, often exceeding Kuala Lumpur, while Kangar remained the lowest, with expenditure just over half of Shah Alam’s.
The department has updated the MyPAKW Calculator for 2024, allowing households to estimate the expenditure required for a decent living based on household size and location.
It is available at mypakw.dosm.gov.my, with a mobile app set to launch in February 2026.
